1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic recording/reading apparatus, and more particularly, to a pinch-roller unit of a recording/reading apparatus for bringing a tape, which has been released from a cassette and loaded to contact a head drum, into close contact with a capstan.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a magnetic recording/reading apparatus is an apparatus for recording information on a recording medium such as a magnetic tape, and reading the recorded information. Types of magnetic recording/reading apparatus include a Video Cassette Tape Recorder (VCR), a camcorder, and so on.
Referring to FIG. 1, a magnetic recording/reading apparatus comprises a main deck 10 on which a head drum 11 is rotatably disposed, a main sliding member 13 reciprocably disposed on the main deck 10 to slide in the direction A, a sub-deck 20 reciprocably disposed on the main deck 10 to slide in the direction B, and reel tables 15 on which two tape reels of a cassette tape seated on the sub-deck 20 are seated, with one of the reel tables 15 being driven to drive one of the tape reels. The magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus further comprises a pair of pole base units 16 and 17 for moving and supporting a tape to be wound around the head drum 11 when the sub-deck 20 is loaded, and a tape guiding apparatus for guiding the movement of the loaded tape.
The tape guiding apparatus comprises a capstan 18 fixed on the main deck 10, a pinch-roller unit 30 for bringing the tape into close contact with the capstan 18 in cooperation with the main sliding member 13, and a review arm unit 19 for providing constant tension to the tape.
In the above-described structure, the pinch-roller unit 30 comprises a pivoting lever 31 pivotably disposed on the main deck 10, a pinch-roller 33 rotatably disposed at the end of the pivoting lever 31, a pressing lever 35 rotatably disposed on the axis of the pivoting lever 31, and an extension spring 37 connecting the pressing lever 35 and the pivoting lever 31.
The pivoting lever 31 pivots by being pushed by the sub-deck 20 when a tape is being loaded and accordingly, the pinch-roller 33 comes into contact with the capstan 18. After the sub-deck 20 is loaded, the main sliding member 13 moves, thereby pushing the lower end of the pressing lever 35 to the left. The pressing lever 35 is then rotated clockwise and the extension spring 37 is extended. The pinch-roller 33 is brought into close contact with the capstan 18 by the tension of the extension spring 37.
It is noted, however, that a disadvantage of the apparatus described above is that the conventional pinch-roller unit 30 having the above-described structure is made up of many parts, thereby requiring large space and a large number of processes to assemble. In addition, a large number of parts increases manufacturing costs.